Since we wrote we have found one that is a really good option. Yesterday a friend called and said there was a nice looking car for sale close to another friend’s house. So today we went and looked at it, drove it, scrutinized it, talked about it, even prayed about it. It is a good fair price as far as prices here are concerned. In fact it is priced only a little higher than current prices in our previous location. Which tells us that they are not trying to rip us off. (That’s kind of equivalent of looking in the blue book).

They are asking 85 million rupiah. Which sounds bigger than it is. It translates to $9300 with the current exchange rate. So here it is. We would like to purchase that car but we just don’t have that kind of cash up front, and credit is not an option here. So we are asking you and the Lord, that if this is what HE has for us, that He will provide the money we need. We don’t know how, if he will use one of you, many of you, or someone completely new. All we can do is make the need known. We shared with the owner our situation. She offered that if we where able to raise the money for it, she would allow us to make a downpayment that would hold it until we received the funds from the states (It can take a month or two sometimes before we get our funds). But she is only willing if we know we can get her the money.

If you would like to help out with this or would like more info from us, you can email us at Jim_abbott@ntm.org or call us 517-879-0837. That is a local Jackson, MI number that will direct your phone call through the internet to our computer! But remember we are 13 hours ahead of Michigan time, so its best to catch us between 7pm and 10pm local Michigan time. Thats our morning here.  We want to thank you in advance for seeking the Lord on this and your consideration. (Anything given for this please add a note that its for the Car, so we know where to use it!

We hope you had a WONDERFUL 4th of July. We sure did. Its the first time we hosted something like this. But we had a BYOM BBQ (Bring Your Own Meat). We got the grill fired up and brought a wonderful taste of Home to our adopted home. To top it all off we found so ‘big boom’ fireworks at the market in town. Everyone loved them! We had about 30+ people show up! It really made it feel like home!

Serving the King together with you, Jim, Joy, Arika and Linc

We thought it would be fun this week to give you a glimpse of the daily life here, and some ‘stats’ about the house and property that we are in charge of. This property is our center of operations for the entire region of Papua. There are 2 houses on the property. Our home and the Mission Home (Guest Home). The Mission Home is an old dorm that has been made into a massive 13 Bedroom home away from home, divided into 4 ‘wings’. Each wing has 3 or 4 rooms and a bathroom. 2 of the wings have the feel of a mini ‘suite’ with a personal sitting room and tv! There are a total of 8 bathrooms, 2 large kitchen and dinning areas. Plus a huge great room for meetings or just hanging out. Outside is a gigantic playground that wraps around a tree. Filled with all the things a little Kids heart could dream of.

The ministry here is rewarding, as we are getting to know our coworkers here on the Island face to face. All in all there is much more than we originally thought. Here is a run down of some of our daily tasks. We have four ‘employee’s’ that work on the property, two pembantu’s (pem-bant-two’s= house helpers), a resident tukang kayu (two-kang Kai-you = Carpenter, and tukang halaman (two-kang hal-ah-maan= yard guy). Joy works daily along side the pembantu’s to make sure all the rooms are cleaned and ready for guests, all the laundry for the day is done, as well as food prep for lunches every day (except Sunday’s). Which also means we run daily to the store for small things to make meals. Our carpenter is always busy with some project around here. Our yard guy stays very busy as he goes to school every morning (high school) then comes and works on our lawn here for 3-4 hours. It usually takes him 3+ days to get the whole yard mowed. Jim is in charge of making sure they both stay busy. Many of these jobs can be tedious and small, but it makes a huge impact in the big picture.

Arika and Lincoln even have their parts here. It’s their job to make sure that all the guests kids are played with and can enjoy their time here. This makes it more relaxing for their parents! Amazingly enough they LOVE their job too!

Our day usually begins at 7am as Jim is in charge of the radio schedule for the entire Island. Meaning all 7 tribal teams and the secondary centers in two other cities around the Island, report to him if there are any problems, questions, or medical needs. This is so he can make the needed arraignments for them. He is also in charge of care and maintenance of the entire property, plus some of the financials for the region. There are also some earlier days as he is responsible to take folks to and from the airport at some of the wee hours of the morning.

Which brings us to a prayer request, for the last two years here in Indonesia we have happily tried to ‘fit in’ by riding a motorbike around as that is the norm for most Indonesians, even for a family of 4. As of late we have realized that the our little bike just doesn’t meet our needs as we shuttle families and their bags to the airport (Picture that in your mind, I think you’ll laugh, or maybe cringe! ha ha!) Our family is also growing rapidly (no Joy is not pregger’s, nore am I getting fatter. HA! Our kids are getting too big!) We also have to buy supplies and food for the Mission House on a much bigger scale than ever before. All these things are leaving us looking for a car. Will you pray with us? We are looking for a good deal on something sensible, but it is hard to find a good used car here under $9,000. We thank you in advance for your prayers. We look forward to see how the Lord will provide!

Throughout our ministry we have always tried to be transparent, or open with everything. We strive to keep this as a foundation as we feel that you are who the Lord uses to keep us here, through your prayers and even financial giving. We are realizing the costs of things in Papua are much more than in Java. For instance it used to cost $3 for a meal for 4. (Cheap I know!), here in Papua you are lucky to find something for less than $10! That along with a loss of some support due to these stressful economic times and a raise in our recommended support level we are now at 65% of what we need to live here. What this means is, we are meeting our daily needs with no problem. However in our line of work there are many large yearly costs (e.i. Visa’s, $3000 a year, Plane tickets for furlough $6000+ every 2-4 years.). We are not able to save for these things . That being said, we are only asking you to pray. God has met these needs each and every time they arise, and WILL continue to do so. He knows who’s and the how’s that He is going to use to make His name known. (We will be keeping you updated as the Lord answers these specific things)

Wow that was a BIG email. The longest one from us in a while! We hope you enjoyed it and will pray with us in these upcoming days to see how the Lord will answer these needs.

Serving our Great God together with YOU! Jim, Joy, Arika, and Lincoln

We had fruit trees in Central Java, but many of those never really produced good fruit. Besides people there knew we were there for only a short time, and our driveway was already paved to the road, people knew why we where there and wanted to help. Here in Papua, it’s a whole new story. We are not here for ‘studies’, though there is always room to learn more! We are here for a purpose, To buy supplies for families that live interior in tribal villages, and through that utilize the relationships gained in our community and work relations to allow Gods love, and truth to shine through!  What better way to begin those relationships by getting to know our community, our neighbors, bridging the gap! Incase you are lost in my metaphor, i’m not talking about a literal bridge or a gap. But utilizing the ‘gift’s’ God has given us to reach out and meet new people and share with them the abundance running over our cup, or in this case our yard! Papuans love these mango’s and we are using them to make new and lasting relationships God can use to make Himself known in this place.

By giving the occasional passer-by a mango with a smile (thats us smiling.. not the mango) we are given opportunities to talk with and meet the people that live around us. Not every one has led to conversation or to deep life giving truth’s, but who know’s right? It’s like that commercial with the contagious smile that makes its way through a community and brightens everyones day. This is making our new home of Papua, more enjoyable and more like home.

This wasn’t always my outlook though. At first all the neighbors would just walk in pick them up and run off. (In our minds that’s stealing, but in their mind it’s sharing because we have more than we need!). I was mad at first but the Lord challenged me with this new kind of thinking, a thinking that led from being mad  to giving and seeing possible but literal new fruit for His kingdom! My question and prayer request is, what is it for you? Do you have a good bridge building material, that will bridge the gap and make our King known?

From there, we spent a short time in the ‘Guest house’, then finally onto our own house. Well at least for the next few months. Because of Schooling arrangements, we have decided to stay here through the end of this school year. The school in Interior does not offer Kindergarten. For now this was the best decision for our family as adjusting to Papua, from Java, is quite a feat.

So for now we are HOME! We love our new house and we are finally getting to use our new furniture that our friends on Java made for us. SO exciting! Plus this house it already contracted by another western family so we don’t have to ‘renovate’ to make it livable, nor buy a fridge, stove and all that right this second. Giving us time to get settled and find good deals instead of buying what we see first.

We did have to leave our beloved Wendy (the kitty) in Java, which made for a hard move. But, there are plenty of animals on this untamed Island. So rather than eat her for dinner, like a few locals do… we decided to get a puppy! Her name is princess Aurora. (See Facebook for Pics!)

Many flights lead to Papua, but not many fly on from here. Making Papua as close to the “end” of the earth as possible. It is a beautiful place, kind of an untouched paradise, a last eden. Literally miles of gorgeous tropical beaches to snow capped mountains in the highlands. It is the ‘end’ of the road for us for a bit as well. This is our new home, FINALLY! We are so excited to be here, although we have definitely felt the effects of moving into another new culture. Its funny how sometimes we joke about the differences in the states. How you go from California to Maine, or Michigan to Florida, each place has its own uniqueness’. The same can be said of Indonesia, only on a grander scale.  There are so many cultural backgrounds here, including (but not limited to) the Island of Papua, where there are around 250 DIFFERENT people/language groups! All on an Island about the size of the state of California.

Our flights from central Indonesia to Papua were uneventful. We were met by Joy’s sister and her family. The kids have all been missing each other since our trip here a few months ago. Needless to say the are all happy!

Our plans have also changed a little bit, instead of moving ‘lansung’ (direct) to our destination, we are now staying in the coastal area at least till the end of the school year. The school in interior does not offer kindergarten (Hint, Hint… We need teachers for many grades at the Schools here! Email us for more info!). This really doesn’t change to much for us, except that we are beginning our orientation to Papua by the coast rather than interior. We are excited for this change as we get to spend some extra ‘time’ with family! This is the closest we have ever lived to them and we are SO excited to finally get to spend time with cousins!

Thanks for all your prayers as we made this move. It has been a long journey, but we have seen the hand of God provide in so many ways.

Following the plans of the Lord,

Jim, Joy, Arika and Linc